


Sugar Rush

by glitchly



Category: THE iDOLM@STER, THE iDOLM@STER: SideM
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Valentine's Day, an attempt at comedy was made, hideo/sanae is mentioned, they/them pronouns for saki, warning for like one or two curses, well.day before valentine's day I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:20:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22723837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitchly/pseuds/glitchly
Summary: Valentine's is fast approaching, and Makio has decided that he's finally going to confess his true feelings towards Saki. What better way to go about confessing than to try and bake your way into your beloved's heart?
Relationships: Mizushima Saki/Uzuki Makio, Sakaki Natsuki/Wakazato Haruna
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Sugar Rush

**Author's Note:**

> This is finally done!! This was for the SideM Valentine's Exchange on twitter, my giftee was @miohondamn on Twitter, I hope you enjoy this!!
> 
> (I'm also sorry that the title and summary are kinda messy whoops)

It was only a mere 2 days away. The day that everyone at the office had been excitedly looking forward to (or perhaps even lamenting, for a select few) was fast approaching. Where had the days gone? It seemed like just yesterday the New Year's celebrations were being wrapped up, and now there was only a couple of crucial days left until the day of love arrived. 

Everyone at 315Pro was preparing themselves for the famed day in different ways, but for a certain group at 315Pro, celebrations were being kicked off in the usual way: with a ton of sweets and treats, of course.

"I-It wasn't a date!!" The leader of the group stammered, nervously turning away from his juniors.  
"Suuure." Haruna nodded, laughing just the tiniest bit over the former officer's flustered reaction, "Because taking someone out 2 days before Valentine's day isn't suggestive at all."  
"I-I...you can go out with someone platonically, you know!" Hideo huffed, though the look everyone in the room was giving him made it clear that they weren't buying it, "Sanae's just a friend!"  
"Of course she is." Was all the reply Haruna gave, but it seemed he wasn't the only one who wanted to interrogate the alliance's leader.  
"So, you're not going to see her on Valentine's day?" Makio chimed in, the widest of genuine smiles on his face as he spoke, "That's a shame."  
"I...well..." Hideo coughed awkwardly, "It's...possible that we-"  
"So you are gonna see her on Valentine's?" Haruna raised a suspicious brow, "Ok, ok...so, a totally platonic, non-romantic Valentine's day date?"  
"...Surely you two have better things to talk about, right?" The two 18-year-olds turned to one another with a giggle as they watched Hideo completely dodge the topic, they knew that their leader wasn't good with stuff like this. 

Before either of them could bring up a new subject, however, there was a knock on the door. It was probably just the Producer or one of the other idols, Makio thought, as he got up from his seat to go and check things out. As he did, he could hear Haruna bring up that name again, followed by Hideo turning into a flustered mess as he tried to protest the idea that he had a Valentine's date. Makio hadn't met that Sanae girl before, but she seemed nice. Just like Hideo and the rest of the group, she too, was an idol, and just like Hideo himself, it turned out she was also a police officer before she decided to give the world of idols a try. Her and Hideo had met at an event, it seemed they'd hit it off over their common interests, and it also seemed like Hideo had found pretty much any excuse to bring her up ever since. Even though Makio usually respected others' privacy and didn't pry about that stuff, he had to admit, it was just a little bit funny to witness the sweets alliance's leader get all flustered over something like romance. 

Makio opened the door to the room, tuning out Haruna and Hideo's conversation as he greeted whichever idol it was on the other side of the door.  
"Oh! Good afternoon, Natsuki!" Makio smiled at the silver-haired boy before him, "Let me guess, you're here for Haruna?"  
The bassist quietly nodded, "HighxJoker...has practice now...I don't want him to be late..."  
"Oh, you do? Ah, sorry for keeping him!" Makio apologised, before turning to call out to the drummer who was probably still teasing Hideo, "Haruna! It's Natsuk-"

Before Makio could even finish the sentence, Haruna was already out of his seat and practically dashing over to the door, the biggest of grins on his face as he ran to Natsuki's side. It seemed that smiling was infectious, as it quickly spread to Natsuki himself as his unitmate and partner came into view, and even just witnessing the two smile at one another made the grinning spread to Makio, who had moved out the way to let these two have their space. 

"What is it, the absolute darling angel love-of-my-life sweetie pie?" Haruna asked, grinning as Natsuki turned an incredibly-noticeable shade of red from that sentence, "What's up?"  
"J-Jesus..." Natsuki stammered the word out, it was actually sort of impressive that he managed to keep (mostly) poker-faced despite the cheesy line Haruna had just spewed, "Anyways...HighxJoker has practice. Did you...forget again?"  
"Shit, we do?" Haruna blinked, and then answered Natsuki's question with the most casual of nods, "Completely! Thanks for the reminder, my sweet honey eternal love."  
"How many more of these...corny pet-names do you have prepared?" Natsuki asked, trying to hide the flustered look on his face with his hands, "I know you said you were gonna be...extra because it's Valentine's soon...b-but I can't keep walking around the office...constantly blushing like this..."  
"Awww, but you look so cute!" Haruna smiled, resting his hands on Natsuki's shoulders, "It makes my heart soar to see you like this, my darling."  
It seemed as though Natsuki didn't have a reply to that one, he simply hid his face as he shuffled into Haruna's embrace, he may have looked completely and utterly embarrassed by his partner's over-the-top displays of affection, but you could see just the tiniest hint of a smile underneath the red that completely covered his face. He was admittedly kind of weak for it, but that was something he could keep to himself, the boy was always a bit shy when it came to stuff like this. Oddly enough, behind closed doors he became the world's most sappiest, most affectionate person you could meet, but in a place where the other idols could witness him turn into a blushing mess? Not exactly Natsuki's ideal.

".........Um...is Makio still here?"  
The two suddenly turned to the side, their attentions both on the person who had first opened the door to let Natsuki in. They were able to confirm that, yes, he was indeed still there.  
"Yo." Haruna addressed the green-haired boy who was still stood nearby, "You good?"

Oh, he was good. Usually, Makio was very respectful of things like this, he knew how to keep his distance and let people have time for themselves. However, for some reason, he couldn't help but look on this time. Maybe it was because it was the season of love, and he seemed to be one of the few people who didn't have a partner of his own yet. He wasn't bitter or anything, in fact, he was happy for everyone else who was getting to spend the day with the people they loved and cherished most. It was just that...well, he didn't know what it was, but there was something in him that just loved to see love. 

Ah, who was he kidding? He knew the reason. He was a person who was just naturally happy for others when they had good news, or when something happy happened to them, and that included the happiness he felt towards all the couples at 315Pro. However, if he was being completely, honestly, 100% hand-on-heart honest...he was maybe just the tiniest, smallest, just the teeniest bit jealous. There was a throbbing in his chest, a loud, resounding heartbeat that called out for one particular person, one person who he knew would probably be coming into the office on Valentine's with tons of chocolate thanks to their popularity. He wouldn't mind such a thing, but he knew that he was going to spend this Valentine's day lamenting the fact that he still hadn't gotten round to confessing to that one dear person, that person who he held so dear, who he wanted to be with so bad, who he-

"Makio?"  
Oh yeah, someone was talking to him.

"Oh, s-sorry!" Makio was snapped out of his daze by Haruna's voice, he was suddenly conscious of the couple staring at him as though there was something wrong with him, "Ah, I didn't mean to intrude or anything! I-I just got lost in thought, was all! I didn't mean to make it look like I was staring or anything-"  
"It's good, man." Haruna shrugged, he genuinely didn't seem to mind, "Anyway, I gotta run. Practice and all-"  
"U-Um, isn't Makio meant to come with us?" Natsuki pointed out, "It's...a joint practice...between HighxJoker and Cafe Parade."  
It was? Ah...then that meant that Makio was going to be coming face-to-face with them, with the special person who his heart belonged to, he was going to be spending more time with that one person who was almost always on his mind, always there smiling at him, always in the depths of his thoughts, warming his heart. That person he wanted to be with so badly...

"Roll~!"

Was _them_. 

That voice. That adorable voice which managed to always grab Makio's attention the moment he heard it. The cute, happy tone it always spoke with was enough to immediately paint the widest, most sincerest of smiles on his face. He could already feel it, the fact that his heartbeat was beginning to accelerate. Just knowing that they were nearby was all it took to make Makio's heart race, that heart that belonged to the one and only Saki Mizushima. 

"Roll, you in there?" Saki's voice traveled down the halls, the familiar footsteps made their way towards the room the sweets alliance had been hiding themselves away in, and after a few seconds, that bright smile was the next thing to fill Makio's vision. "Ah, there you are! C'mon, we're gonna be late to practice, Roll~! You don't wanna be late, Producer's in a papi bad mood today, and you don't wanna get yelled at! What have you even been doing, anyways?"  
"Oh, sorry! I, uh..." Ah, his face was flushed red, wasn't it? In an instant, warmth filled his cheeks, being face-to-face with Saki just naturally bought such a reaction out of him, "I-I got carried away with the meeting, sorry! I'll be there right now, promise!"  
"Fufu, don't sweat it~♡! I don't mind, I just don't want you getting a lecture from Producer, is all...or Soichiro, for that matter." Saki spoke with a slight giggle, even just that sweet sound made Makio's heart flutter. "But still, I'm kinda curious, what do you guys actually talk about during meetings? Is it really just sweets stuff, or...?"

Well, the answer was mostly yes. A lot of sweets alliance meetings just consisted of discussing sweets and such, whether it be a discussion on a new cake cafe that opened near the office, or everyone in the group gathering to try out one of Touma or Soichiro's new recipes. However, today's conversation topic was, of course, the famous day waiting ahead of them. Honestly, who in the office wasn't talking about it when it was right round the corner? A lot of the idols had partners they wanted to take out or crushes they wanted to confess to on that day, and Makio...well, Makio wasn't sure. Even though he was oh-so-hopelessly in love with the papi perfect person before him, he knew he was too nervous to actually try and make a move. He wasn't sure what to do, he wanted to be with Saki so badly, but what would happen if Saki rejected him? What would happen if Saki could only ever view them as friends? It was a thought that had kept Makio up for many nights during the February period, and he was sure that it would continue to keep him awake for the next few days as well. 

Still, he had to answer Saki, and the honest answer revolved around that one special holiday that Makio desperately wanted to spend with him. How was he meant to play this one? Casual? Yeah, that sounded about right, it was better to just mention it nonchalantly, as though he'd given it no thought at all.

"Well, today we talked about, well, y'know...Valentine's day." Makio spoke after quickly clearing his throat, "It's right around the corner, after all!"  
"Oh? Do you have plans or something, Roll?" Saki asked, they tilted their head curiously as they looked at their friend, "Do you have a date?"  
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. No, he didn't have a date, nor did he think he would be getting one this year. After all, the person he most wanted to take out on such a special day was the one who was stood right in front of him.   
"Ah, no, nothing like that!" Makio quickly waved his hands in denial, "It was just more of a general discussion was all!"  
"Ohhh, I see~♡!" Saki nodded, "That's a surprise to me, to be honest!"  
"Huh?" Makio blinked, now it was turn to wear the curious head tilt, "Wh-What makes you say that, Saki?"  
"Well, you're super papi popular with the girls at school, aren't you, Roll?" Saki pointed out, "I would've thought that someone like you would have no trouble with finding a Valentine's date!"   
Well, they weren't wrong. Makio was a pretty popular guy, the 'natural prince' himself had already received a few gifts from his classmates in the run-up to Valentine's day. He knew that most people would probably be envious of such popularity, but that wasn't what Makio himself was after. Although he appreciated every last gift from the bottom of his heart, he always knew that there was only ever one person who could be the one for him.  
"Well...I guess I'm giving it some thought." Was his meek reply, he shrugged as he smiled wistfully at the waitress before him, "Ahaha, I don't actually have that much experience with this kind of stuff...oh, we should probably head to practice! Sorry, I almost got us distracted again!"  
"Oh, you're right!" Saki nodded, "I'm heading off, you guys hurry and wrap up your convo, ok~?"

As Saki merrily ran down the halls, humming lightly to themselves, Makio couldn't help but let out a sigh, a happy-sounding sigh that belonged to a person who was longing. Just seeing Saki always turned him into a hopeless mess. He couldn't help it, he was madly in love...and apparently also obvious about it.

"Holy. Shit." The Haruna who had been stood nearby blinked as he watched on, "Makio, that was the gayest thing I've ever witnessed, and I'm literally dating a guy."  
"W-What are you talking about?" Makio turned to him, seeming flustered at the fact that he apparently hadn't been subtle.  
"Dude, your entire face is red...like, super red." Haruna pointed at Makio's face just to reiterate his point, "Are you planning to confess this Valentine's or something?" Before Makio could even respond, Haruna's face lit up as he continued on, oddly enthusiastic about this, "Oh my God, do you have something planned?? You can tell me if you do, I can keep a secret!"  
"N-No, I, umm...no, I don't have anything planned, to be honest..." Makio replied, seeming dejected, "I don't think I'm gonna tell them, I just...what if it ruins our friendship?"  
"Ah, the common worry of everyone in love." Haruna nodded, wearing a look of fond reminiscence, "That was what kept me from confessing to Natsuki for so long, I just didn't want things to be awkward...but sometimes you gotta take a risk is a-"  
"I...confessed to you..." Natsuki finally spoke up, "What are you...talking about?"  
"...Anyways, sometimes you just gotta take a risk!" Haruna pretended to not hear that, looking on at Makio, "C'mon, you should do something special for Saki for Valentine's, something personal or something! I bet they'd love something like that!"

Actually, that didn't sound like a bad idea, now that Makio gave it some thought. Yeah, that actually sounded pretty cool! Doing something special, confessing his love with something well thought out and special, something that really showed Saki how he felt...that was it! That's what he needed to do! 

"You're right!" Suddenly, a spark seemed to flare within him, a look of determined confidence came across the 18-year-old as he thought of ideas, "Maybe I'll make them a cake! A huge, huge cake with tons of tiers and layers and-"  
"W-Wouldn't that...take a while though?" Natsuki pointed out, "...Maybe go with...something a bit smaller?"  
"Oh yeah, good point...let's see..." Makio rested a contemplative hand on his chin, trying to brainstorm, "Small and simple, but something I could make with ease...how about...I know! I'll make something sweet, like, like...maybe cookies!"  
"Hell yeah, that's the spirit!" Haruna cheered him on, "You've got this, Makio!"

That was it! That was his plan...he was going to make the world's bestest, most tastiest, most wonderful cookies on Earth, all for Saki! It was the perfect way to show he cared...this was going to be the world's best Valentine's day, he was sure of it.

  
\---

One day to go. Valentine's day would rear its head upon the office in only a mere few hours. February 13th, the day where stores would be flooded with people trying to make last-minute gift purchases, those who hadn't yet bought flowers or chocolates would rush to go and grab whatever they could before the day itself arrived. Luckily, Makio was not one of those people. He had his plan sorted out, he knew what he was doing. After he'd spent the night trying to look up as many recipes as he feasibly could online, he managed to find one that looked like it'd be suitable for someone like Saki. Cutesy pink sugar cookies, coated in tons of sprinkles, the picture at the top of the page he'd found it on was pretty much what Saki themselves would look like in cookie form. Cute, glamorous, covered in glitter. It was perfect, Makio couldn't steer wrong with this...well, he could, seeming he didn't have much baking experience, but he paid that bit no mind. 

And maybe paying that no mind was the right choice, as right before the natural prince himself stood his finest creation. The best batch of sugar cookies one could ever hope to lay their eyes upon. He'd followed the recipe perfectly, heck, the things looked just like they did in the picture! It was perfect, he'd actually done it, he'd made something that actually looked delicious! He lowkey wanted to tear up from how good they looked, he almost wanted to just eat them himself...well, maybe that could be his back-up plan if Saki rejected them. Then again, spending Valentine's day miserably eating cookies didn't sound too appealing, now that he thought about it. 

Everything was perfect and ready to go. He'd saved a few photos of the glittery pink beauties, he'd even sent the pics to Shinonome to get his opinion, he'd received the prestigious honour known as the Shinonome seal of approval. If even a professional baker approved of how these things looked, then that meant these were practically destined to be liked by Saki, right? Yeah, that sounded about right. Now that they'd had a bit of time to cool, he just had to get them off the baking tray, and into the gift box he'd had prepared. After all, the best way to present something this cute and delicious was with an equally as cute pink box, one wrapped in a glittery ribbon. 

Before he could get on with that, however, he heard the door to the office kitchen open. (Yes, he'd done this at the office. Although it would've been easier to just do this at home, he had relatives, relatives he didn't want prying into his business and questioning who he was making all this for.) For a swift moment, he felt his heart skip a beat, he instinctively tried to cover the baking tray with a pair of oven mitts, just in case it was Saki entering the door. Luckily for him, it was someone entirely different. 

"Oh, you're the one taking up the kitchen?" Haruna's voice was a bit of a relief to hear, Makio sighed as he took the mitts away from the tray. "Are you making something for you-know-who?"  
"Yep!" Makio answered with a smile, he beckoned for the orange-haired boy to come a bit closer. Makio was more proud of how these cookies had turned out than he thought he'd be, he had no problems with letting the others see them too. "I found a good recipe and everything, and I think they've turned out pretty good! What do you think?"  
Makio looked over as the drummer approached, trailing behind him yet again was Natsuki. Those two had really become inseparable ever since they'd gotten together, Makio could only hope that soon him and Saki could be following in those footsteps.   
"Damn, those look sick!" Haruna held up his hand for a congratulatory high-five as he looked on at Makio's work of confectionary art, Natsuki wore a silent look of awe as he stared at the sweets. "Are all of them for Saki? Can I have, like, just one?"  
"Hmmm..." Makio gave it a bit of thought as he high-fived his fellow sweets lover, "Actually, now that you mention it, I could use with a taste tester! Ok, both of you feel free to take one! Let me know if they're good!"

The two wasted no time with grabbing a cookie each, Makio watched on with bated breath as they ate, waiting on a review. To be completely honest, he hadn't actually thought to try any of them out himself until now. He was so happy with how visually stunning the cookies looked that he'd forgotten that the taste of them was the important part here, not just the aesthetics. Still, he'd followed every instruction completely perfectly, and if following those instructions had led to the things looking stunning, surely the taste would also be-

"HAARGH-" A look of almost immediate regret came across Haruna's face, an almost choked-up noise came from his mouth as he tried to swallow the cookie, "W-Wa...ter..."  
"H-Huh???" Suddenly, Makio's eyes went wide. He quickly grabbed the nearest glass, filling it with water to hand over to Haruna. A look of panic covered Makio's face as he faced the duo before him, Haruna looked like he was suffering, Natsuki looked...well, Makio couldn't make out an emotion on his face. It was just completely blank as he stared off into the distance. "Do...do they really taste that bad...?" The tone the waiter's voice took on was 'sad' at best and 'heartbroken' at worse, these cookies were his key to his beloved's heart, did he really mess them up that badly, especially after putting so much time and effort into them? He'd followed all the steps, why weren't they perfect? "I-I don't know why, I, I, I swear I-"  
"Salt." With no warning, Natsuki suddenly spoke up. His vacant gaze remained fixated on nothing in particular as he spoke, his voice slightly hoarse. He said nothing more than that one word, but it was all he needed to say.   
"No...no, no, no! I swear, I-I used sugar! I used the jar that was labelled with 'sugar'!" Makio protested, he stared at the tray of his so-called 'perfect' creations, his voice rising as he spoke with panic, "Are you guys sure it's salt you're tasting?"  
"Un...mistakeably..." Haruna coughed the words out, slamming his now-empty glass onto the counter, "D-Dude...you can't trust the labels on anything in here, Ken's always mislabeling stuff." 

It was over. It was all over. His chances of winning over Saki, any hope of getting to spend Valentine's day with the person he loved most...it was all for nothing. How was he meant to present something so awful to someone he loved? How was he meant to feed Saki actual garbage and expect them to suddenly be head-over-heals for him? He was doomed, he had no chance, maybe that plan to spend Valentine's crying and eating (non-salted) cookies wasn't the worst option on the table after all. 

"Look, Valentine's is a whole day away!" Haruna pointed out, he rested a supportive hand on Makio's shoulder to try and comfort him, "If you're, like, set on the cookie thing, there's tons of time to just make another batch!"  
Oh yeah. There was plenty of time, wasn't there? Huh, Makio had been so fixated on his mistake that he didn't realise that it wasn't all hopeless after all. Usually, Makio was a lot more positive than this, but the pressure to get something this important correct was honestly beginning to get to him just the tiniest bit. With a nod, Makio began to prepare himself. He needed to get it right this time, he needed to be a lot more careful, he could just consider this first awful batch his test run, couldn't he? Yeah, things were starting to look a lot better now! When he viewed things in a more positive lens, he was able to quickly forget his stresses and worries. 

After a little bit of idle chit-chat, Haruna and Natsuki decided to leave Makio be, it seemed he needed to be able to concentrate on this. The two left, closing the kitchen door behind them, making sure no one-

"Hey, who's in the kitchen?" The two froze as they heard that voice, "I can't find Roll anywhere, is he in there?"  
Oh no. It was Saki, aka the one person in the office who wasn't allowed to see Makio right now. Haruna and Natsuki gave each other a look, a look that conveyed the exact same feeling, the fact that neither of them wanted Saki to walk into that kitchen and have the surprise ruined. They needed to stall them.

"Oh, uhh, there's a meeting going on in there!" Was the first panicked excuse Haruna could think of, "So, like, I guess don't go in there."   
He could practically feel the look Natsuki was giving him, the look that said 'really? that's the best excuse you have?'. He was never good at making up stuff on the spot, as evidenced.  
"...Who has meetings in the kitchen?" Saki blinked. Damn it, they didn't seem fooled. "All I can think of is your sweets alliance stuff, Haruna! And Roll's in the sweets alliance anyways~☆!"  
"Exactly!" Haruna nodded, "Sweets alliance members are the only ones-"  
"But Natsuki's with you." 

Ok, he was really bad at stalling, that much was obvious. Even though he was looking at Saki, he could still tell the exact look that was on Natsuki's face as he heard such an awful excuse crumble within mere seconds. Now that Haruna thought of it, maybe he should've let the smarter one between the two of them come up with the excuse. 

"So, is Roll in there or not?" Saki wore a look of confusion as he glanced at the door that led into the kitchen, "I haven't seen him all day, I was starting to get super papi worried that he hadn't turned up to work or something!"  
"He's probably-"  
"No. He sent a text...saying he's just running late." Natsuki quickly spoke up before the idiot next to him could come up with an even less believable lie, "You don't need to worry, Saki..."  
"Ohhhh." Saki nodded, his worried look was almost immediately replaced with a smile of relief, "Thank goodness, I was really worried for a moment there! Look, if Roll shows up, will you tell him that I've been looking for hi-"

_**CRASH.** _

It came without warning, the loud crashing sound of something hitting the floor. It came from the very room that Haruna and Natsuki were trying to keep the waitress before them out of, yet the clamoring sound of whatever it was that had just fallen had alerted all three of them in an instant. Before either of the band members could react, Saki was already slamming the door to the kitchen open, dashing into the forbidden room as they tried to see what the commotion was. Haruna tried to reach out a hand to stop them, but it was too late, they had already ran in, they had already begun to lay witness to the 'surprise' that had been lying in wait for them.

"R-Roll??" Saki's eyes turned wide as they witnessed the mess that had spilled everywhere, the dough that had fallen to the floor, the mounds of pink sugar glitter that had spilled out and coated the kitchen, the boy known as Makio Uzuki who looked up at Saki with a look of horror as it dawned on him that he'd been caught. "Roll, are you ok?? Are you hurt?? Here, here, I'll help you up!!"

A look of complete and utter giving up appeared on the waiter's face as he grabbed a hold of Saki's hand, as he was pulled back up to his feet by the person he had been trying to impress with all of this. How was any of what was currently happening meant to be impressive or cool? He'd blown it, hadn't he? There was no way to recover from this, he'd not only been caught red-handed, but he'd been caught messing up a second time. Great! Absolutely great!

"Roll? Roll? Is everything alright?" That sweet, caring voice was what snapped Makio out of his daze. Even though he was so upset over having made another mistake, there was something in Makio that would never allow him to frown when Saki was nearby. Just seeing that lovely smile of theirs, or hearing that beautiful, melodious voice was all it took to put the biggest of smiles on Makio's face, to make his heart start beating fast, to make him forget what was troubling him, even if just for a few seconds.   
"I'm...I'm fine, thank you." Makio spoke the words through a smile, even if there did seem to be a sadness in his eyes as he said that, "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you, I-I just tripped was all...I'm fine, I'll clean this all up, don't-"  
"Oh, I'll help you! ☆" Saki shot an encouraging smile in Makio's direction, they rested their hand on top of Makio's shaking one, hoping to try and calm his nerves a bit, "Don't worry, Roll. I'm not gonna leave you to do all this yourself, ok?"  
"No, I...you don't understand!" An uncomfortable look settled onto Makio's face, he couldn't let Saki help out. If Makio was going to mess everything up, he could at the very least not make someone else clean up after him. He was certain there was no chance he could confess to Saki like this, that meant he couldn't let Saki know what he'd been doing in here. "I swear, it's my mess, I should be the one to clean it! We can talk afterwards, it's fine-"  
"No, no, I insist!" Damn it, Saki's determined personality was going to be a problem here, wasn't it? Oh well, that determination of theirs was one of the things that made Makio love them so much. The way Saki always insisted on helping out, never letting anyone be left behind or suffer by themselves was one of their best traits, Saki truly was just an admirable person, weren't they? "C'mon, it'll all be done a lot quicker if there's two of us~! ♡"

Makio couldn't fight this one. He wanted to just say no, but he knew that refusing any further would probably make alarm bells ring in Saki's head, and right now what he needed was to not seem suspicious. Going along with it, Makio just simply nodded in response to what Saki said, quietly getting to work on the clean-up. Maybe if he just talked to Saki about random nonsense it would take his mind off of everything? Yeah, that sounded good. 

Yet, he was only able to keep Saki distracted for a minute or two, at best. His questions on what they had been up to earlier and the like could only keep Saki talking for so long, and even then, it was pretty much fate that Saki would bring up the elephant in the room eventually.

"Y'know, I ran into Haruna and Natsuki before I heard the noise." Saki mentioned casually, they looked over at the Makio who had his back turned, he seemed to be focused on cleaning, "They said you weren't even in the office, yet here you are! Do you know what any of that's about?"  
"...They were probably just joking around." Was all Makio could reply with. He knew saying anything more would probably expose the truth, and that was far from what he wanted right now.  
"You sure?" Saki asked, that tone of concern returning to their voice, "Roll..."

"Roll, can we talk for a moment?"

Of course. Of course it was going to come down to this. Refusing Saki's request would just be making it more obvious that something was up, Makio wasn't left much choice. He turned to Saki, trying to muster up a brave smile as he looked on at them. 

"What's up?" He asked, you could hear just the tiniest hint of nervousness in his voice.   
"Roll...it feels like you're trying to hide something." Saki said after a moment's hesitation, the usual peppy tone to their voice seemed to disappear as they turned serious. It was rare to hear Saki like this, this tone was only ever bought out when they were angry or deeply concerned, and it seemed to be the latter right now. "I'm sorry if I'm reading too much into things, but...something really just seems off. It seems something's upsetting you, and I don't think it's the fact you tripped."

Damn it, it felt Saki could see straight through him. Saki was quite a perceptive person, it seemed that whenever anything upset Makio, Saki was always able to tell in an instant. To be bluntly honest, Makio wasn't sure why he thought he could hide this from Saki in the first place, Saki had never failed to pick up on stuff like this before, they always knew when something had their best friend in a bad mood, or if something had happened. Makio didn't know how they did it, was it the look in his eyes? Did his face give it away? Or was Saki just secretly some sort of psychic that could always just _tell_? Whatever the answer was, Makio knew that Saki wasn't going to let this go. Great, was this whole conversation going to end up as a confession? Saki was always able to pry the truth out of Makio one way or another, was Saki going to end up finding out that his best friend had feelings for him? 

Still, Makio tried his best to deny things.

"It's really nothing, I promise! I didn't mean to make you worry over nothing, please don't-"  
"Roll, can I ask another question?" Saki suddenly changed the topic, "I want to know...what were you doing in here? What were you trying to do with all of..." Saki took a quick moment to gaze at all of the swept-up bits of pink glitter and icing sugar that had once been messily strewn along the floor, "...this?"  
"I-I was just...baking." Makio shrugged, he nonchalantly attempted to get back to his work, only to feel a hand on his shoulder instead. "Um...to be specific, cookies. Sugar cookies. Really glittery and cute ones."  
"...Were they meant for anybody?" Saki asked, they looked right into Makio's eyes as they spoke, a slight frown present, "Is this...some kind of Valentine's thing? I mean, it's tomorrow, so..."   
A lot of the spilled decorations screamed of Valentine's. The general pink-and-red colour scheme of the ingredients, the little heart-shaped candy decorations, trying to claim that this was all completely unrelated to the holiday would be the most blatant lie he could tell, and he didn't take Saki for an idiot. He wouldn't try and fool Saki with something so unbelievably obvious, that would be completely out of order. It looked like the truth was bit-by-bit coming out, huh?

"Yeah." Makio mumbled, nodding as he tried to avoid Saki's gaze. He knew what question was coming next, and he also knew that he was not ready to answer it.   
"...So, can I assume that you were trying to make a present yourself? Is that what this is?" After Makio quietly nodded again, Saki took a moment to think. They took their hand away from Makio's shoulder, but before Makio could react, Saki simply took his hand into their own, gently holding onto his hand as that usual bright smile returned to their face, a slight giggle to their voice, "Don't worry, Roll~♡! Whoever this was meant for would probably just be happy to know that you even had the thought! It's the thought that really matters, I don't think the lucky person would mind whether or not you were able to get them something...I know I wouldn't mind, to be honest."

...Wait, they wouldn't? 

_Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump_ , the rapid beating of his heart was suddenly the only thing that Makio could hear. Did Saki really just say that? Or were they just being nice? No, no, Saki wasn't the type to be dishonest about that kind of stuff. Was it possible that Makio actually still stood a chance here? That encouraging smile, the way Saki immediately lit up again when trying to reassure Makio that it was all ok, that wasn't just for show. If Makio were to be honest here, would Saki...? Was it worth a shot after all? It would be such a gamble to take though, what if Saki just wanted to remain friends? Makio had to make his mind up fast, he had to give Saki an answer. Would he risk everything and admit the truth, or would he just remain silent? 

To tell, to not to tell...to confess, to not confess...yes, no...which would it be? As Makio found himself looking at that hopeful glimmer in Saki's beautiful blue eyes, those eyes he'd found himself lost in countless times before in the past, he knew what his answer had to be. Even if it wasn't what a sensible person would do, his heart just seemed to have a habit of wandering off by itself, of rushing ahead of him at full speed. Maybe it was good to trust his heart instead of just worrying.

"...That means a lot to me, Saki." Makio tried to muster up a confident voice as he maintained his gaze on Saki, as he focused on every last intricate detail of the other's warm smile, as that positive vibe that always emanated from them slowly spread to him, "Because...I was honestly hoping you'd say something like that."  
"Huh?" Saki blinked, it seemed that Makio's response had thrown them a little bit off-guard, the surprised look on their face made that much obvious, "You were?"  
With a nod, Makio took in a deep breath. He slowly closed his eyes as he let the words out, "Because, Saki...in all honesty, the person I was preparing all this for, was...was...actually..."

He slowly breathed out. Even though his heart was beating so overwhelmingly fast, even though his body was shaking from the nerves that had built up over the past few minutes, he was determined. He opened his eyes, greeted by the sight of a Saki who looked on with an expression that was equal parts nervous and equal parts cheerful. For the sake of the wonderful person before him, he had to say that one word. 

"...You."

What happened next seemed to all happen in a blur. What Makio had honestly expected was an air of awkward silence, or a dramatic gasp from Saki, but before he could take in another breath to ready himself, his vision was filled with a Saki who leaped forward, wrapping their arms around Makio and holding on tight, and before Makio could realise it, the two had already fallen onto the floor below as a result of Saki's force. It took a few seconds for Makio to get his thoughts together again, but as he returned Saki's embrace, he couldn't help but smile, a faint giggle escaping from his lips.

"Saki, can I take this to mean you're glad?" He asked, trying to sit himself up as he kept his hold on his friend...well, he supposed they were more than that now.  
"Of course! Of course you can!! Oh my God, of course!!" Nothing but absolute joy filled those words, their eyes were practically sparkling with how happy they were, "Roll, you were going to go to all this effort for me? I-I kinda don't know what to say, I'm just super papi happy right now! I didn't think you'd ever feel the same~! ♡"  
"Haha, sorry for making you feel that way...?" Makio responded awkwardly, the fact Saki had responded so positively was still sinking in, it hadn't fully settled for Makio yet that this was really happening, but that wasn't a bad thing. "Um...I'm sorry I messed up your gift though."  
"Don't worry about it, it doesn't matter! ♪" Saki pulled away from the hug, allowing Makio the sight of the tears that were beginning to fill their eyes, "I'm just happy you put so much thought into it! I don't need gifts, Roll...I'm ok with just being with you."

It seemed to be a gamble worth taking after all. As the two got themselves up off the floor, brushing the dust off of their clothes, they couldn't help but remain holding onto one another's hands as both of their faces filled with a warm blush. It was such a breath of relief, not just for Makio, but for Saki too. To think, that they had both been so hopelessly longing for the other for this long, and were now finally stood here hand-in-hand, proudly able to declare their love for the other. It may not have been the most orthodox way of finding out their affections for one another, but then again, neither of them considered themselves to be orthodox people in the first place, it was just what made them, well...them. And that's what they loved about each other most of all, the fact that they both allowed the other to be who they truly were at heart.

"Y'know, Roll..." Saki gently squeezed his hand, though his eyes seemed to be looking at something else entirely. Makio followed Saki's gaze, before the look of embarrassment quickly took over. "I don't know why you were so stressed about this!"   
Saki walked over to the closest kitchen counter, the one that was still lined with a slightly warm baking tray coated in tons of cute, pink cookies. A look of wide-eyed amazement filled Saki's eyes as they held up an example, "After all, this batch looks like it turned out papi perfect~♪! In fact, I'm gonna try one!☆"  
"WAIT, SAKI, NO-"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! I hope this bought a smile to your face, Valentine's fluff is one of my fave things to write, not to mention that I absolutely adore the pairings I was given, so this was super fun to write!


End file.
